The rain had not ceased by the time Evelina returned to the manor.

Her silk gown had turned heavy as it clung to her body uncomfortably. She ignored the frantic fluttering of the maids and the judgmental silence of the head butler as she passed by and retreated to her study.

Maps were already sprawled across the mahogany surface. But this time, the maps were not the world maps or markets, but they were the forgotten aquifers beneath the Northern soil.

While Evelina traced the veins of the earth, the heavy doors of the estate groaned open and the Duke stepped inside.

Ace did not look like a man returning from a triumphant day at the capital. His military cloak was damp, and his expression was tightened into a knot of mounting frustration.

One looked at him and Evelina knew that the Imperial Council had not just asked questions. They had ambushed him.

In fact, the words of it had clearly spread from his personal guards present at the palace to the maids and servants of the Estate.

Evelina had heard some of the striking conversation flying in the air.

On the other hand, Ace remained silent as he stood there.

"Your wife is a strategist, Alvarez, we all saw it at the Tea," the Minister of Finance had sneered, his voice ringing in Ace’s ears, "But there is a fine line between a bold move and a delusional one. She is bleeding the Northern treasury dry for wheat that is currently rotting in the damp. If she doesn’t liquidate, the Alvarez name will be bankrupt."

Ace found Evelina in her study, the room lit only by the flickering glow of a few candles and the occasional flash of lightning from the window.

"Evelina," he began, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

He didn’t come to her with the iron command of a General, but rather, there seemed to be a softness to his voice, "We need to talk about the warehouses."

Evelina tilted her head down and didn’t look up from her maps this time. Her finger was pinned to a specific intersection of limestone and shale, "The warehouses are full, Ace. I am aware."

Ace reached out as he looked at the top of her head. She was drenched, her clothes and hair stuck to her skin yet she did not seem to be bothered by it.

There was something... so lonely and delicate about the figure in front of him. He couldn’t understand what it was but it made his heart ache.

His hand hovered in the air as if to touch her shoulder before he thought better of it and retracted it, "The Council is pressuring me to intervene. They think you’ve... they think the pressure of the last few months has been too much for you. The liquidity is at twelve percent. That’s not a decent margin."

"The numbers are temporary," she replied, her voice distant, eyes still tracing the subterranean blueprints, "You can rest assured that I won’t drag you down."

Now, that made Ace’s temper flare, "I am trying to protect you, don’t you get it?!" Did she think he was here to talk to her just because he was worried of suffering a loss?

Ace inhaled a deep breath, reigning his frustration as he spoke again, "If you sell half now, we can stabilize the accounts. I can tell the Council it was a controlled market play."

Evelina finally looked up. Her eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, but the fire within them hadn’t dulled at all, "I don’t need protection from the Council, Ace. I need you to trust that I am not seeing a gamble. I am seeing a necessity right now.’’

Ace stopped still in his tracks. Seeing the determination in her eyes, he didn’t say another word.

Their eyes met and the eye contact lingered for a minute too long. After which, Ace turned around and left the study.

That evening, a small and intimate dinner was held at the estate of Duke Valerius of the East.

It was supposed to be a gathering of the elite to discuss the upcoming bumper harvest, but for Evelina, it felt like a walk toward golden gallows that was just waiting to catch her neck in time.

The room was filled with the scent of roasted duck and the clinking of fine crystal. The mood was jovial, the talk centered entirely on the blessed rains and the expected surplus of grain that would drive prices down to historic lows; a victory for everyone except the woman who held the Empire’s largest stockpile right now.

The Duchess Valerius, a woman whose smile always felt like a blade dipped in honey, leaned toward Evelina over her wine glass.

"My dear," the Duchess cooed, her voice carrying across the table with practiced ease, "We were all so worried when we heard about the... unfortunate timing of your latest investments. It’s so easy to be caught off guard when one is new to managing such a massive estate."

The table went silent.

Ace, sitting beside Evelina, paused. A cold look flickered in his eyes.

"I spoke with my husband," the Duchess continued, her eyes wide with pity, "And we’ve agreed. If you find yourself in a position where you cannot meet your immediate obligations; the guards, the servants, perhaps the upkeep of the manor, we are prepared to offer you a private loan. At a very... neighborly interest rate, of course. We wouldn’t want to see the Alvarez name tarnished by a simple lapse in judgment."

The insult was wrapped in such thick layers of kindness that to snap back would make Evelina look ungrateful and unhinged. It was a gentle trap, carefully designed to force her to admit defeat in front of her peers.

Ace spoke before Evelina could. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"The Alvarez estate is quite capable of managing its own affairs, Duchess," Ace said. His voice was steady, but there was a dangerous edge to it that made the men at the table shift uncomfortably, "My wife’s decisions are based on a vision that most of this room lacks the foresight to understand. If she wishes to hold the grain, she holds the grain. We are not in need of neighborly charity."

Evelina glanced at him.

It was a public defense more fierce than anything he had ever granted her in their years of marriage in her past life.

But when Evelina caught the look in eye, she didn’t see the confidence his words projected. Deep inside those eyes, there was a gnawing worry.

Was he worried that she will bring more humiliation to him in the future?

The dinner continued, but the pity followed Evelina like a shadow. Every smile felt like a mock and every toast to the rain felt like an intentional dagger they had aimed her way.